E-Commerce Link: Better Conversion
Four ideas for improving your Web site
September 2007 By Jeffrey Eisenberg
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That said, if you’re still pressed to reduce your customer service call volume, clearly post on your site a frequently-asked question page that provides answers to the majority of customer questions. Most call centers record and log calls and visitor chats; use that information to determine the most common questions.
3. Ramp Up the Power of Your “About Us” Page
Most companies provide “About Us” pages because everyone else has them, but many overlook their importance to customers.
Many relational visitors want to know a little bit about your company. Who started your company? Why? What are the company’s values? This information allows the relational shopper to feel as if he or she is building a relationship with you rather than just buying a product or service.
Transactional buyers are looking for credibility so they can feel confident in making a purchase from you. How long have you been in business? Why are you qualified to sell me this? What companies are you affiliated with? A company history timeline is a great way to highlight achievements without braggadocio.
What you shouldn’t do is simply copy and paste your mission statement, or use it as an excuse for another push-type sell. Your “About Us” page should reflect your company’s personality. If you’re struggling to find customer-centric content to put on this page, consider the following examples of visitor questions you can answer:
• Why do you do what you do?
• Who are the people behind the company?
• What kind of people will I be working with/buying from?
• What does your company stand for?
• What does your company stand against?
4. Evolve Your Site’s Copy
I shouldn’t have to reiterate that great copy is worth its weight in diamonds. Until recently, the great copy challenge was mostly about providing relevance. Now, it’s about providing the same relevance in fewer words.
“Power equals work divided by time. Your copy’s persuasive power equals its emotional credibility divided by the time required to read it,” says our copywriting trainer Jeff Sexton. “The trick isn’t just to say more with fewer words, it’s to say it more credibly with [fewer] words. That’s much harder to do, but anything less usually fails. Unread copy is infinitely unpersuasive.”
To write great copy, you must adhere to three principles:
• It must be relevant.
• It must be credible.
• It must be as short as possible (not just short).
Notice how the word “creative” is absent. People don’t have time for you to be cute, play tricks or gimmick them. They know how to weed out the bull dung. They want the facts, and they want what they’re looking for now. They don’t have the time or patience for anything else.
For example, the following copy meets the third principle but not the first two:
Free Apple iPhone
Be the first to get the iPhone.
Shipping included. Act now!
A better ad would be:
Earn an Apple iPhone
No money out of your pocket.
Must complete advertiser offers.
Just because I listed copy last doesn’t mean it’s the least important. In fact, the opposite is true.
People still do two things more than anything else online: They read, and they click on links. What visitors read on your site can make all the difference in how many of them click your “Buy now” link.
Jeffrey Eisenberg is co-founder and CEO of Future Now Inc., a New York-based consultancy that specializes in online conversion strategies. He can be reached at jeffe@futurenowinc.com
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